I the author of Funeral Guide made use of the site last week for the first time since Funeral Guide went live a year and a half ago.

My Uncle Chris van Rooyen ended his life after a long and stifling struggle with Emphysema. I suppose, aside from his increased dependence on care, he found the prospect of suffocating to death worse than ending it sooner. He faced the final challenge of his life with courage. I view his death as more of an act of euthanasia than suicide. Some countries have legalized euthenasia, not yet in South Africa. Hopefully one day our human rights law will extend to terminal patients who, due to medical intervention have lived far beyond any kind of comfort.

What I actually wanted to share today was how therapeutic is was for me to go through the various poems on Funeral Guide picking out bits that were apt for Chris, thinking of his love of homing pigeons and his bravery in facing the final challenge. The Poem I put together was read out at the funeral and I received such amazing feedback from those people closer to him than I who were so deeply touched by it. It was adapted perfectly for him, and there is no way I could have put something like that together with so little time without the help of Funeral Guide’s poetry pages.

I hope this inspires many an amateur poet out there. The poem I made was about 2 thirds other peoples words and about 1 third my own. I certainly couldn’t publish such unoriginal work here, but there’s nothing to stop us from reading something special and personal at a funeral regardless of where it comes from.

Farewell gentle soul – Chris van Rooyen

3 Responses to “Nothing like a bit of poetry”

I wish I had known about the Funeral Guide when Daniel died. The days between losing a child and the funeral are so difficult. To arrange a funeral while overwhelmed by sorrow and agony is not easy.
I wanted Daniel’s funeral to be perfect but at the same time I felt too sad and confused to even think.
The poems are touching and beautiful.

I know what you mean when you say that you wanted Daniel’s funeral to be perfect, I felt the same when my eldest son Justin passed away. I was blessed by having an amazing funeral director Nina who helped me have a very special farewell for Justin. That was nearly 2 years ago and since then I have gone on to become a funeral director myself. My heart is to reach out to others with compassion and understanding, assisting families during such a sad and traumatic time -making sure the their funeral is special and meaningful and that they get onto the path of healing.

For the many people who find it hard to cope with a death, grief counseling often can help them make the transition. Its goal is to help people grieve within a normal, healthy period of time and eventually resume their daily lives. Grief counseling can be a long-term process, a short-term affair or even a one-off, trumny and can occur on a one-to-one basis or in groups